Amateur Lowry on top in Ireland

Golf Betting Lines

05/15/2009 - Beltray, Ireland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Irish amateur Shane Lowry fired a 10-under 62 on Friday to vault atop the leaderboard after the second round of his national championship, the Irish Open.

Lowry, the 16th-ranked amateur in the world, finished 36 holes at 15-under 129 and that matched the tournament record. Patrik Sjoland set the original mark in 2000 and he went on to victory.

Lowry wouldn't be the first amateur to visit the winner's circle this season on the European Tour if he holds on Sunday. Danny Lee captured the Johnnie Walker Classic, but no matter what, it was a big two rounds for the 22-year- old Lowry.

"I'll never forget this day as long as I live," said Lowry.

The groups in the early wave were once again met with difficult conditions. Rain and cold temperatures didn't exactly hinder scoring, but when the rain subsided, players went very low.

Lowry's 62 wasn't even the best round of the day on Friday. Graeme McDowell set a new tournament and course record with an 11-under 61 that only got him into a tie for 36th at minus-six after a poor 77 on Thursday.

"Yeah, 61, low score of my career," said McDowell. "I think I shot 61 one other time in practice. You know, 77 wasn't really what I was looking for. I was extremely disappointed, obviously to come here in front of my home fans and disappoint the way I did. But I took a lot of positives away at the same time because I knew I had not played that badly."

Robert Rock and Jamie Donaldson both shot rounds of seven-under 65 and are tied for second place at 13-under 131 at County Louth Golf Club.

Paul Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion, posted a six-under 66 and that was aided by an ace at the par-three 17th. He won an Audi for his effort and got into fourth place at minus-12.

"It was 196 yards, a little downhill, a little downwind off the left, and hit a beautiful shot," said Lawrie. "As soon as I hit it, it was straight down the pin. You've obviously always got to get a little lucky for it to go in, but it was a nice shot."

Lowry's day was filled with nice shots.

He flew out of the gate on Friday with three birdies in his first four holes. Lowry eagled the par-five sixth to reach 10-under par for the championship and get within striking distance of the lead.

At the par-four ninth, Lowry sank a seven-foot birdie putt to join a group in first place. He tapped in a short birdie putt at the 10th that kept him tied for the lead after Lawrie's ace.

Lowry couldn't save par from a bunker at 11, but he got back to 12-under thanks to a 12-footer for birdie at the 12th. That kept him tied atop the leaderboard, but his play late gave him a cushion.

He birdied the 14th and 15th holes to find himself two clear. Rock and Donaldson got to 13-under par, but a birdie from Lowry at the last gave him the 36-hole record and a two-shot lead.

"It's like a dream, really, the way I putted," said Lowry. "It's an unbelievable feeling to be leading by two shots over a field like this. I didn't expect it coming into the tournament, but I expected to do well."

Lowry stated that his tentative plan is to play for the Great Britain & Ireland team at this year's Walker Cup, then turn professional. He wants to go to European Tour Q School in the fall.

Nick Dougherty (67), Roope Kakko (67) and Thomas Levet (66) are knotted in fifth place at minus-11.

Johan Edfors (70), Soren Kjeldsen (67), Lee Westwood (66) and Oliver Wilson (68) share eighth place at 10-under 134.

The 36-hole cut fell at four-under 140 and local hero and two-time major champion in 2008 Padraig Harrington, last year's winner Richard Finch and John Daly all missed the weekend.

One player who also has the weekend off is first-round leader Francesco Molinari. After he shot a one-over 73, Molinari signed an incorrect scorecard and was disqualified.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.